Nunavut Travel Guide

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Iqaluit

After decades of isolation, Canada's North may finally be on the verge of a new golden age after the creation of Nunavut, Canada's newest and largest territory. With its capital in Iqaluit , the new government is focusing on developing the cultural and natural assets of a region rich in both. Certainly in terms of art the Inuit have already made an indelible mark far to the south. Distinctive soapstone carvings and breathtaking prints have long captured the imagination of art enthusiasts around the world, and today are being produced by a whole new generation of artists. A tradition of stewardship has also ensured the entire region remains rich in wildlife. Huge herds of caribou still roam in an utterly wild landscape, while wolves and foxes that would be terrified of humans elsewhere, walk by nonchalantly. It is a land rife with photographic opportunities, and cradling the breeding grounds of dozens of bird species, Nunavut is a birdwatcher's paradise.

Try kayaking amongst the icebergs, snowmobiling, or dog-sleigh riding. The range of wildlife to be seen includes polar bears, seals, caribou, whales and walrus. If you are a birdwatcher there is a large variety of birds that fly north to nest and raise their young because of the midnight sun in summertime.

The early years

There was once a world before this, and in it lived people who were not of our tribe. But the pillars of the earth collapsed, and all were destroyed. And the world was emptiness. Then two men grew up from a hummock of earth. They were born and fully grown all at once. And they wished to have children. A magic song changed one of them into a woman, and they had children. These were our earliest forefathers, and from them all the lands were peopled.